Land Grabbing and Customary Land Rights in Uganda: A Critical Reflection of the Constitutional and Legislative Right to Land

Abstract

Abstract Despite the constitutional and legislative guarantee to land in Uganda, customary land tenure seems to suffer from inadequate legal protection, a situation that is analogous to that in the colonial and the immediate post-independence era. This article critically examines the normative content of the constitutional and legislative right to land in Uganda and argues that the customary land right is not adequately protected as the other categories of land tenure, in which land is owned and legally recognised in Uganda. It also serves to illustrate that the inadequate protection of customary land rights is analogous to the situation in the colonial and immediate post-independence era, and that weak customary land rights could be susceptible to the occupants’ deprivation during land grabbing. There is a need to address this situation in order to holistically ensure and promote an effective land governance regime that respects and protect customary land tenure.